Saturday, November 15, 2008

Welcome back to the SDCA blog and Web site, there's news afoot, and here's a brief glimpse at a few things we'll be developing in the near-term:

1) The board met at Dick's place last week, and we discussed plans for the 2009 South Dakota Canoe Association annual meeting. It'll start around noon, Jan. 24, 2009, at the Outdoor Campus in Sioux Falls. All members are welcome, and bring a friend or two, newcomers to kayaking and canoes, perhaps, we will have a jam-packed program including:

Pat Wellner, a Pierre member, will take us through a few routes in the Pierre area for travelers. Remember, the water stays open all year there, so Pat's presentation might help dial you in for a little Nov. through Feb. paddling excursion.

Jay Heath and Jarett Bies will each present some recon reports on new lakes and new ideas they developed in their exploration over the last summer and fall. Jay purchased a after-market sail for his kayak and may explain some insights on its use, while Jarett's got some more info on a great small town to use as a base for Lake Superior exploration.

Dick Davidson will narrate and show slides from one of his many northern Canada/Arctic adventures.

There will be two paddlers who will have roster space and information about Boundary Waters Canoe Area adventures in 2009, for paddlers who might want to target that famous paddling spot next year.

Plus much more to be announced, along with the SDCA business meeting, to include the election of officers for next year. The board has a few openings and the club as a whole almost always benefits from fresh blood at the top. Write any board member with questions on that part of the meeting.

In addition to the Jan. 24 event, we'll plan a pool training session in Sioux Falls between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and we'll probably have another one after that but before the meeting. Those details are to be announced, but we will seek to set it up for a Saturday afternoon, probably Dec. 6, 13, or 20. Still working out the details on that, and when we have them, we'll post it and get the word out.

The SDCA newletter will be back in the mail next week for all members, highlighting these ideas and a few others.

In the interest of community, we hope to get feedback from paddlers about winter storage and add it to this blog in the next week or two. If you have some insights on what to do (or not to do) when it comes to keeping a boat over winter, share for newcomers.

Hope everyone is warm, happy, and ready to do some pool training, and to the hardy souls still paddling this late in the season, please do so with care, we want to see you on the water next spring, or at the pool.